Tapering off Ativan Support Thread

[[li...]]

I´ve heard this drug or withdrawal from it causing ´mental terror´.

 

Can anyone explain what is meant by that ?

 

Originally, I was taking clonazepam and now it seems insane that I switched to this one.

 

And as a different question: when dosing this drug three times a day or more I can these weird ´waves´, like the new dose flowing over the previous one.

Appetite, body temperature, sedation, etc. it sort of messes with my daily rhythm.

Has anyone else had this ?

 

 

 

 

 

[[So...]]

It's like a night Terror for me only I am awake. I in hell. Chest pain ear ringing flipping out exhausting and overwired and manic

[[bo...]]

Its morning time again !! Not that I wouldn't have noticed , i've been awake most of the night !!

Tapering of ativan is pure hell on earth.... Cripes you've gotta be motivated..the only good tbing about this right now is .i hate this drug with a vengence and want done....the phenergan is not really working so am trying the tart cherry juice capsuals tonight...

I am fortunate that my other side effects are very managable unlike what I've been reading for others. I don't know how you do it with the insomnia as well....

Pete27 I tried the valium switch over some time back and I didn't like it at all so have gone back to ativan.

Songbird20 ... Do what you have to do to get there. I feel that its important to keep the end goal in sight and if it means back to .50 to get some relief do it !! I am still on .625 at night and feel will be here for some time...

Sunnydeigh .. Good luck !! What an awesome day friday will be. Its people like you who keep me on track knowing there is an end to this...please let us know how ativan free life goes xx   

[[Lo...]]

Its morning time again !! Not that I wouldn't have noticed , i've been awake most of the night !!

Tapering of ativan is pure hell on earth....

 

Finally, after 3 days of being stuck in the house, I mustered enough courage to go get some groceries and meds at the pharmacy. Every little task is nervous breakdown inducing. I'm scared of doing more valium swaps for the same reasons pete described. Getting below 2mg ativan seems awfully difficult for me. A pdoc back in Feb wanted me to stop all ativan and start taking valium. I thought her advice would kill me, so I went a little slower, but still trying to do that quick conversion. Well, at that point, I got something like 8 hours of sleep from valium and ended up stretching ativan doses a little, getting to 1.5mg ativan at one point. Then, out of nowhere, I got the BP spike and this mega-electric tremor shock feeling, and I gulped down 0.5mg and 0.5mg about 30 minutes apart and took the Propanolol ER 120mg, which stabilized me. Got me to 3mg, and it was an adventure to get to 2mg again. Also, when I dropped to 1.5mg ativan again, the ER gave me additional 2mg ativan, putting me up to 3.5mg. I am not even sure how to taper anymore as even the tiniest cut is felt. Maybe updose with valium first, and then cut ativan. not sure what to do at this point. I'm fighting suicidal ideation on a daily basis.

 

The worst thing of it all is that I am scared to go to ER now

 

 

[[Lo...]]

I started a switch over to valium a week a go by swapping 1/8 th of my doses with 2.5 valium in the evening ..the pain in face and teeth has gone to another level . I  cant eat anything now as i cant bite and the pain in teeth and face is making want to jump out the window...

I don't know what to do cause if its going this way i'd be better re-instating lorazepam....

Also getting adrenaline surges for about 2 hours from 4am like i'm on speed.

 

What a mess.

 

Best

 

Pete, I wonder if Lexapro is making your ativan wd worse. Don't do anything without talking to dr., but when my GP gave me lexapro while I was in ativan wd, I ended up in ER the next day. It was awful. But then again, without the AD, valium makes depression worse. Tough call.

[[Lo...]]

It's like a night Terror for me only I am awake. I in hell. Chest pain ear ringing flipping out exhausting and overwired and manic

 

Lots of chest pain for me and palpitations. Keep wanting to go to ER on some days, but their fave benzo is ativan. Also, they have an either/or policy on benzos (ativan or valium). They frown on us who are on both...

 

I've had some luck with metropolol tartrate 50mg tabs (beta blocker). I cut it in 1/2 and take as needed. You can get tolerant to these as well.

[[li...]]

A question about lorazepam.

 

Note: I have been using clonazepam at 2 mg for over five years, in February I switched to lorazepam.

Stupid mistake.

 

When taking two daily doses, one early afternoon and one at about 10:30 PM: when I wake up I always have to 'wait' till it's time for the early afternoon dose. 11 am to 12:30 pm can take a long time ... Not so long if I still have some clonazepam in my system (takes about two weeks to get it cleared from my system)

 

I presume this is due to my past use of clonazepam and not a lorazepam thing ?

I don't get anxiety, it just feels like the lorazepam isn't covering for the clonazepam during that time.

Or is this a thing that happens to 'regular' lorazepam users ?

It's mostly a 'time passes very slowly, isn't it afternoon yet' ?

 

(I get these weird 'waves' when taking three doses a day, something I tried recently)

 

[[So...]]

Being on two different drugs is hard. Yes I have been offered by my neuro to just take clonopin and drop the a. But he wants me to increase the k.

I just want to taper my a first and see where that leads me. I may not be able to get off the k, who knows?

I didn't know one tiny pill once a day would have such bad withdrawals. I am still on the half pill cut of the a. Yesterday while at work I did take a half does .25 of the a to get me through to the other half but that was pretty good seeing that I still haven't gone back to the one full pill a day.

The tinnitus is the crappiest the symptoms for me. I noticed after taking my clonopin last night the t went down to almost nothing. That's pretty heavy stuff. Listen to screeching or tske away one pill? I also think it has to dimwits my neck. I have severe degen in the c-spine so the k helps relax the muscles and jaw so it may contribute to the t going down a little. Also took one plain Tylenol and that helped me sleep too.

If I sleep ok, the next day I don't feel cravings for meds. I feel kind of normal. It's that every other night of bogus sleep,that gets me mental. 

[[ge...]]

 

The tinnitus is the crappiest the symptoms for me. I noticed after taking my clonopin last night the t went down to almost nothing. That's pretty heavy stuff. Listen to screeching or tske away one pill?

 

If I thought upping my lorazepam dose would eliminate my T I'd do it in a second, but from what I now know about benzos it probably wouldn't last and I'd end up worse off than I am now. At least I can still sleep, and my mornings aren't too bad. It's the afternoons and evenings that are driving me nuts.

[[Lo...]]

 

If I thought upping my lorazepam dose would eliminate my T I'd do it in a second, but from what I now know about benzos it probably wouldn't last and I'd end up worse off than I am now. At least I can still sleep, and my mornings aren't too bad. It's the afternoons and evenings that are driving me nuts.

 

Yeah, my experience is that tolerance with A follows me up quickly :-(

 

[[Lo...]]

Apparently, the 1.96mg of ativan seems like a wall. Hard to go below that. Does anyone microtaper? Any other ideas?

Would updosing on a difference benzo (valium) and then cutting A be may be an option? Just trying to avoid to updose on ativan.

[[Lo...]]

A question about lorazepam.

 

Note: I have been using clonazepam at 2 mg for over five years, in February I switched to lorazepam.

Stupid mistake.

 

When taking two daily doses, one early afternoon and one at about 10:30 PM: when I wake up I always have to 'wait' till it's time for the early afternoon dose. 11 am to 12:30 pm can take a long time ... Not so long if I still have some clonazepam in my system (takes about two weeks to get it cleared from my system)

 

I presume this is due to my past use of clonazepam and not a lorazepam thing ?

I don't get anxiety, it just feels like the lorazepam isn't covering for the clonazepam during that time.

Or is this a thing that happens to 'regular' lorazepam users ?

It's mostly a 'time passes very slowly, isn't it afternoon yet' ?

 

(I get these weird 'waves' when taking three doses a day, something I tried recently)

 

Lorazepam is a much shorter acting drug than clonazepam, so withdrawals between doses are a huge issue. Wasn't that big of a deal when I was taking only 0.5mg lorazepam (0.25mg clonazepam), but once I started using loraz daily it became a huge problem. Maybe, it is not late to back to Klonopin. Lorazepam is such a rough drug to taper off of. Some people here are really good at it, but some of us like myself really struggle with it horribly. Most lorazepam users dose 3 or more times a day. Talk to someone more experienced here, but you may benefit from 4 or 5 times a day dosing. The idea is to have the levels even throughout the day.

[[La...]]

"Some people here are really good at it, but some of us like myself really struggle with it horribly. "

 

I was successful in systematically reducing my dose to quickly get off (3.5 months), but make no mistake, it was a horrible struggle marked by torture and misery. I just kept going because the alternative was worse.

 

laser

[[bo...]]

Apparently, the 1.96mg of ativan seems like a wall. Hard to go below that. Does anyone microtaper? Any other ideas?

Would updosing on a difference benzo (valium) and then cutting A be may be an option? Just trying to avoid to updose on ativan.

 

Its a hideous drug to come off... I am at 1.625 and having an awful time. Especially at night because overall my night time dose used to be 3.5 and that is now down to 1.125. Everytime I try to go below that at night I don't sleep.. I did 5 nights on .625 and got no more than 2-3 hours disruppted sleep a night . Could just not function.. I have been able to reduce my two day time doses to .25 so am pleased there, but the night kills me... I am determined at this stage to do it on the ativan only. I am going to start 'shaving' ( like someone else suggested with a file) a tiny bit off each night.

I have chosen not to actuakly weigh the amount because psycologically I don't want to know... Just a little 'dust' off each night and see how it goes....

I wish you well.. We are all in this nightmare together x

[[Lo...]]

"Some people here are really good at it, but some of us like myself really struggle with it horribly. "

 

I was successful in systematically reducing my dose to quickly get off (3.5 months), but make no mistake, it was a horrible struggle marked by torture and misery. I just kept going because the alternative was worse.

 

laser

 

What were your main symptoms? For me, the blood pressure, HR fluctuations, burning skin and insomnia are the worst.

[[li...]]

A question about lorazepam.

 

Note: I have been using clonazepam at 2 mg for over five years, in February I switched to lorazepam.

Stupid mistake.

 

When taking two daily doses, one early afternoon and one at about 10:30 PM: when I wake up I always have to 'wait' till it's time for the early afternoon dose. 11 am to 12:30 pm can take a long time ... Not so long if I still have some clonazepam in my system (takes about two weeks to get it cleared from my system)

 

I presume this is due to my past use of clonazepam and not a lorazepam thing ?

I don't get anxiety, it just feels like the lorazepam isn't covering for the clonazepam during that time.

Or is this a thing that happens to 'regular' lorazepam users ?

It's mostly a 'time passes very slowly, isn't it afternoon yet' ?

 

(I get these weird 'waves' when taking three doses a day, something I tried recently)

 

Lorazepam is a much shorter acting drug than clonazepam, so withdrawals between doses are a huge issue. Wasn't that big of a deal when I was taking only 0.5mg lorazepam (0.25mg clonazepam), but once I started using loraz daily it became a huge problem. Maybe, it is not late to back to Klonopin. Lorazepam is such a rough drug to taper off of. Some people here are really good at it, but some of us like myself really struggle with it horribly. Most lorazepam users dose 3 or more times a day. Talk to someone more experienced here, but you may benefit from 4 or 5 times a day dosing. The idea is to have the levels even throughout the day.

 

Maybe you are right.

 

But Klonopin has been such a horrible drug. A very physical drug. In my experience, you basically don't get around the fact that you need 6 months to taper off.

Compounding this problem, my health is not good. Symptoms like muscle loss aren't good when you have very little muscle left and exhaustion is a problem.

I think that part of the problems are related to some of Klonopin's action on serotonin and cholinergic/anticholinergic effects.

 

In a nutshell, getting off K would be 'easy' if I still had my health of ten years ago.

 

I've been thinking that maybe I would need a lorazepam IV ! Doesn't seem practical, though.

[[su...]]

Hang in there!  Took my last dose yesterday morning! 

[[wa...]]

Need Help

 

What antidepressant can help me get off Loraepam. I started tapering but doctor had me stop and up dose. As I could not handle everything with my health issues. I'm tolerant to it. Now I have W/DS very day while still taking the drug. SSRIs cause me to be depressed and Im paradoxical to Ativan. I stopped taking my liver meds, they made me so sick. I have no life at all. I'm so drug sensitive I used to be a regular on this site. Please help if you can.

Take you warrior

[[Ki...]]

Congrats Sunny  :yippee: Please keep us posted on your post-jump recovery

 

Warrior - I replied to you on Beth's blog 

[[wa...]]

Kiddo, I wrote to you on Beths blog again.  Thank you so much !

Love warrior

[Guest [Ti...]]

I need help so bad...I am paradoxical to Valium so bad it isn't funny. For those of you who have followed my story you know I am severely kindled. I tried Klonopin and it made me very ill, I tried Valium and have been on it for about a year now minus my CT last October. Since reinstatement on it, it has only made me sicker. I did have Ativan laying around from when I first got put on benzos in the ER and when I decided to rescue dose during this hellish time I used Ativan. It got rid of my nausea (I've read it's actually used for that) and seemed to last a lot longer than Valium does. I take Valium and 2 hours later I am in extreme hell, unable to move, getting electrocuted, just being tortured wanting to rip off my skin.

 

I want to know if anyone has had issues with Valium like I am having and switched to Ativan and had some relief...it processes through the kidneys and not the liver. If I am having issues with most psych meds the kindling factor is at play and also possibly metabolization issues. If my liver isn't processing the Valium possibly switching to Ativan could allieviate some of this. Thoughts?

[[wa...]]

Time for a change,

I will write you later, I too can hardly take any meds.

Take care

Warrior

[Guest [Ti...]]

Time for a change,

I will write you later, I too can hardly take any meds.

Take care

Warrior

 

Please do I feel like I am freaking dying over here or going to just lose my effing mind. I don't know how much more I can take of this.

[[Si...]]

I can't give the best advice. Just want to state that Ativan has a really short half life. But if you don't have many other options as far as Benzos it may work for you. So sorry that you have the added issues with this!

[[bo...]]

I need help so bad...I am paradoxical to Valium so bad it isn't funny. For those of you who have followed my story you know I am severely kindled. I tried Klonopin and it made me very ill, I tried Valium and have been on it for about a year now minus my CT last October. Since reinstatement on it, it has only made me sicker. I did have Ativan laying around from when I first got put on benzos in the ER and when I decided to rescue dose during this hellish time I used Ativan. It got rid of my nausea (I've read it's actually used for that) and seemed to last a lot longer than Valium does. I take Valium and 2 hours later I am in extreme hell, unable to move, getting electrocuted, just being tortured wanting to rip off my skin.

 

I want to know if anyone has had issues with Valium like I am having and switched to Ativan and had some relief...it processes through the kidneys and not the liver. If I am having issues with most psych meds the kindling factor is at play and also possibly metabolization issues. If my liver isn't processing the Valium possibly switching to Ativan could allieviate some of this. Thoughts?

 

I have always been on ativan but used valium some years ago. Since I started my withdrawel of off ativan this year , my doctor encouraged me to switch over to valium for withdrawel.. It was hell... I was groggy , my skin itched , I felt terrible. Very spacey and nauseous...

I switched back to ativan and have done better with the taper...i know it goes against what most people say works for them but I am finding ativan an easier taper than valium...

So sorry for your side effects.. This journey is oure hell at times ......xxx